April 5, 2013

As our aircraft landed with a
thump, I woke up to be utterly surprised at finding myself in Malé, the capital
of Maldives,
instead of Colombo in Sri
Lanka. Unknown to me, a connecting flight
via Maldives
had been hurriedly cobbled up in Dubai
after the original one got missed due to a late start at Lahore.The embarrassing feeling was like having
boarded a wrong bus, but it did not last long as we took off for Colombo
after an hour’s stopover.

Business in Colombo
pertained to a workshop on South Asian Stability, sponsored by the US Naval
Post-graduate School and, involved Pakistani and Indian armed forces veterans and scholars, along
with members of various think tanks and institutions from the US.

Driving from the airport to
the city, one could see shops lining all 35-km of the distance, with old terra
cotta roofed buildings and quaint Victorian churches completing the colonial
scene.Orderly traffic was the first
thing that struck me.Buses were
strictly following the bus lane.All
motor-cyclists were wearing helmets, including pillion riders, whether men or
women.The taxi driver would brake every
now and then at zebra crossings, something I was quite pleased with when the
same courtesy was extended to me later as a pedestrian on many an occasion.

As I got off at the Taj
Samudra Hotel, the taxi driver reminded me that all cricket teams stayed there.He said that the most popular of them all was
the Pakistani team and the Sri Lankan fans often caused a traffic jam at the
hotel premises while seeking autographs and pictures of their favourite players.

Before the workshop started, I
had a complete day to myself, so I decided to roam the streets of Colombo.
The municipality seemed to be working most conscientiously, for there was no
garbage to be seen anywhere and the streets were as clean as could be.All roads are being turned into one-way
thoroughfares to ease traffic congestion.The serene HunupityaLake
has a tree-lined walkway all around it and the young and old, jog and walk
early in the mornings and late in the evenings.

A facility known as ‘Friends
in Need Society’ is a 182-year old institution located in downtown Colombo,
dedicated to the care of the handicapped, especially the amputees of the civil
war.Disabled adults and children are
provided every possible medical help, including dignified reintegration into
society.It was no surprise that there
were no beggars to be seen in Colombo.The idea of such a benevolent institution is
certainly worth emulating in Pakistan,
if there are philanthropists willing to help.

As the sun’s rays became more
piercing, I hailed a rickshaw to take me back to the hotel.The driver asked for a rather huge sum of Rs
1,000, but after some haggling, came down a bit.Not impressed, I suggested something more
reasonable, but when he learnt that I was from Pakistan,
he immediately slashed the fare down to Rs 200.While driving back, he gave several reasons for his generosity: firstly,
that Pakistan
helped Sri Lanka
quell the murderous insurgency, secondly, that our cricketers were very popular
in his country and finally, that he was pleased to meet a fellow Muslim.I thanked Tasleem for the flattering comments
which were offered in immaculate English which was no surprise, as the literacy
rate in Sri Lanka
is over 93%.

Though religious tolerance is generally evident in Colombo, there have been some instances of bigotry, of late.The
majority Sinhalese Buddhists (70% of the population) have objected to meat being certified as
halal. Even the Muslim hijab is coming under criticism from some radical Buddhists and, there have been odd instances of attack on mosques. Despite this recent
acrimony, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians have a long history of peaceful co-existence and mutual respect of religious places, practices and traditions. This is evident as a mosque stands next to the famous Murugan Hindu
temple; another main mosque and the Baptist Church Community centre share a
common wall; yet another church and mosque stand on the two sides of a main
road.It seems that extreme courtesy flows out of a
tolerant attitude borne of a multi-faith and a multi-cultural society.I would not be off the mark in claiming that
Sri Lankans are some of the most polite and considerate people on the globe and hopefully, they will be able to maintain this wonderful tradition in the future.

During a visit to the BuddhistGangaramyaTemple,
I happened to watch a wedding party receive the benedictions of the priests.Dressed in maroon saris (the colour of the Theravada
Buddhist faith, also reflected in the national flag), the bridesmaids escorted
the rather fat bride for a pooja ceremony.This was followed by a photo session, much
like our never ending ones, in which every family member is roped in and forced
to smile under sweaty brows or melting make-up.A stuffed elephant, which was a temple mascot when it lived, is still
revered and the faithful make it a point to pray for its comfort in the Hereafter.

While the workshop was in
progress, the very appetising South Indian food started to take its toll on the
waistlines, so evening walks had to be resorted to with vigour.During rush hour, walkways were full of
people, with working women being in evidence in large numbers.Odel, an upscale shopping mall, was thronged
with well-heeled Westerners who were willing to pay the inflated prices of
the clothing and other items on sale.Tourists abound in Colombo,
which serves as a springboard to other places of historical, botanical or
zoological interest in the rest of Sri Lanka.A dozen top class hotels within a square mile
of central Colombo attest to the increasing popularity of Sri Lanka as an
affordable holiday resort.

One day when we got an early
off from work, a hunt for the fabled Sri Lankan gemstones turned out to be
successful.Though this blue sapphire
for a necklace pendant set me back by a fortune, the recipient of the gift (my wife, of course) was more than happy,
as it turned out!

One of the famous getaways of Colombo,
especially for socialising couples, is the vast ViharamahadeviPark
whose coconut palms, huge banyan trees and dense herbage provide much needed
cover from the sun, as much from prying eyes.A golden statue of Buddha lords over the park, while the Town Hall,
popularly known as the White House, forms an impressive backdrop. On one end of
the park is the Cenotaph War Memorial built by the British in memory of the
Ceylonese soldiers who fell in World War I; it later came to commemorate the fallen Ceylonese soldiers of World War II and, still later, those who laid down their lives while fighting the recently ended insurgency.

The oddly-named Galle Face
Green is a mile-long beach front promenade lined with palm trees, at the
western end of the Colombo.It is a popular strip for jogging, as well as
family outings on weekends. The elegant Galle Face Hotel dating back to 1864, is a prominent landmark on the Green. I went out
for late night walks a few times and was quite amused to see kite flying at
that late hour, with colourful kites having long streamers shimmering in a
flood-lit sky.A drumming concert was
underway, with hundreds of youngsters enjoying the merriment with abandon.

Security in Colombo
is flawless and, given the 25 years of insurgency that had badly racked the
country, it is indeed commendable.Smart
and courteous policemen can be seen at virtually every traffic crossing. During
a VIP movement near the Presidential Secretariat, I was most politely told by a
policeman to take a detour, “if it is not a problem, sir.”Except for military installations, roadblocks
and checkpoints are non-existent. Even the GHQ, located right behind the Taj
Samudra Hotel, gives a welcome look, with a bevy of military policewomen
alongside their male counterparts guarding the main entrance.

During my stay in Colombo,
I noticed a virulent tirade by the media against India
and US, for passing a UN resolution against supposed human rights violations by
the government during the last stages of the counter-insurgency campaign.It seemed that the resolution had more to do
with Sri Lanka
cosying up to China,
than anything else.The inauguration of
the Chinese-builtHambantotaPort in south Sri
Lanka seems to have rubbed the two powers on
the wrong side, I thought.Sentiment
against interference by outside powers is strong for another reason too.Four and a half centuries years of
exploitative rule by the Portuguese, Dutch and the British, has left an
anti-colonial mindset amongst the Sri Lankans, and they strongly feel that they
can handle their own affairs.

To me, the short Colombo
experience was a very pleasant surprise.The 18th century English man of letters, Horace Walpole, coined the word ‘serendipity’
describing such accidental discoveries which the heroes of the Persian fairy
tale, The Three Princes of Serendip, were always making.To relive those discoveries – or to experience serendipity – one must first
hearken to Colombo’s call and then
delve deeper into enchanting Sarandib of the Arabs and Persians, which is none other than the beautiful Sri
Lanka of today.